In recent years, many organic dyes are used in display materials, optical recording media, etc. In the case where a dye is used in a coating process or an ink-jet process, not only a high molar extinction coefficient but also high solubility in solvents is required for heightening coloring efficiency. Dyes for use in electrowetting displays based on an image display system, in which a plurality of pixels filled with two phases, i.e., an aqueous medium and an oil-based color ink, are disposed on a substrate and affinity between the aqueous medium and the oil-based color ink is controlled by voltage application ON-OFF switching with respect to each pixel to spread/gather the oil-based color ink on the substrate and thereby display an image (Nature (London), 425, 383 (2003)), are required to have high solubility in hydrocarbon solvents.
Thermal transfer recording materials are known as one kind of recording materials. Various pyrazole disazo dye compounds including the following compounds are shown in patent document 1 (JP-A-8-108634) as yellow to orange dyes which are usable in those materials and have a high color density and excellent light resistance.
    Patent Document 1: JP-A-8-108634